#Roy (Hindi) Rating:* * Incredibly beautiful..but lame, too! ‘Roy’ proves the adage that beauty and brains don’t go together. Jacqueline is a perfect fit for the film that puts even a highly energized person into a fitful slumber.. don’t know what vibrant #RanbirKapoor & soulful #ArjunRamphal were doing in it. If this was only about #Malaysia it wouldn’t have been a problem. Unfortunately newbie director adds a hare-brained plot and kaput! A nightmarish valentine to be sure! Play safe folks! #BhushanKumar #TSeries #ParagDesai #UniversalPictures #RanbirKapoor #ArjunRamphal #JacquelineFernandes #AnupamKher #ShernazPatel

#MessengerOfGod (Hindi) Rating: * Monstrous ego trip much in the nature of the one we were subjected to last week(#Shamitabh). At least #Shamitabh was slick and intermittently entertaining. This one is too slippery, and in fact goes one better- it’s directed , produced, costumed, musically serenaded and acted by the great man himself. Divergently Cult-ivated, this film like it’s promoter/ideologue is banking on a readymade following to do the needful. And it’s 3 hrs 30 minutes too long. If you are looking for a headache then go for it! #HemaUpadhyay #1HPR #PVR #GurmeetRamRahimSinghJiInsan #HakikatEntertainmentPvt.Ltd.

#Love,Rosie (English) Rating: * * ½ A valentine day offering about unexpressed love, this one takes the cake in keeping the two childhood best friends(intended-to-be-together) apart for the longest time before allowing them a breakthrough in their cognition stuttered engagement. All about the inability to express love, it’s faintly humorous but not exactly entertaining! #PVR #LilyCollins #SamClaflin #christianDitter #Lionsgate #ConstantinFilmProduction #CanyonCreekFilms #RobertKulzer #SimonBrooks #MartinMoszkowicz #DonCormody #JamesFlynn #CeciliaAhern

#SomeTimes (Cineplay,English) Rating: * * *1/2 #SubodhMaskara & #NanditaDas’s latest venture #CinePlay that’s slotted to hit the VOD sector is a series of entertaining plays captured on camera for a wider viewing audience. #Sometimes , the latest play in the series, written by #AdhirBhat and Directed by talented #AkarshKhurana is a vividly entertaining experience. A confluence of solid writing, tight direction and superb performances, this one makes you sit up and take notice. Be prepared to rush to the theatres for the next showing...! #RomaPerieraTalwar #AnishaSenguptaYanger #TurningPointbrandConsulting

Qissa(Punjabi/Subtitled/Advance Preview/releasing 20Feb2015) Rating: * * * * Stunningly eloquent and intense dramatic engagement. #AnupSingh’s Superb direction, brilliantly structured screenplay combined with unforgettable performances by #TilottamaShome #IrrfanKhan #TiscaChopra #RasikaDuggal make this a never-to-be-missed experience. It’s been a long time since #NFDC came up with a winner..this is it! #VikramjitRoy #HemaUpadhyay #EverydayMedia #1HPR

English Film Review

Johnson Thomas

Opportunistic Valentine

Film: Love, Rosie

Cast: Lily Collins, Sam Claflin

Director: Christian Ditter

Rating: * * ½

Runtime: 102 mins

Synopsis: Boy and girl grow up in an insular neighborhood, become best of friends and when they approach adulthood, are unable to acknowledge their bonding/love for each other- so latch on to other partners to complicate their individual lives and elongate this movie. Their shared dream of studying in Boston, shattered because girl gets pregnant and does not tell her friend about it. Confused?

Review

Well, I was too. couldn’t figure out why the two couldn’t express their love for each other during the umpteen times they meet, talk , chat or email…This is an adaptation of Cecilia Ahern’s novel ‘Where Rainbows end’ and tries generally for the ‘When Harry Met Sally’ affect but it doesn’t do the film much good. The scenes are well lit, the actors are charming and the direction has a few moments of smarts. But for most of the runtime, it’s just a little too jarring. The shifts in mood, tone, tempo and drama make the film seem a little off-kilter. A few delicate moments are sent completely awry by the musical selections that accompany them.

Alex stays in Boston pursuing his medical degree and getting hit on by the most gorgeous though unstable girls, for being that cute accented British guy while Rosie gets laid, pregnant , tries to give away her child to foster care and then relents , her career aspirations of owning her own hotel gets dashed, going to Boston for a Hotel Management course is also dashed, so she stays home taking care of her baby girl and working as a chambermaid and keeps flitting in and out of Alex’s life just so that she stay’s on course for the finale.

The cruel forces of the script in fact contrive to keep them apart for 13 yrs almost before they can get together.

If only the two would be lovers could talk openly about their feelings for each other, this movie would not have existed at all. Midday through all those lame excuses for not having an open conversation, you feel as though this shouldn’t have existed at all. Because by the time they clear up their misunderstanding(mostly contrived) it’s already too late to feel good about their coming together.

Christian Ritter’s direction is pretty, his collaboration with Director of Photography Christian Rein brings out untold depths in the visuals. This greatness , if at all, lies in the ambient lighting schemes adopted by the duo to lend texture to the context. The rest of it is pure gibberish- even the overwhelming use of song cues.